By Your Side
by Herringway
Summary: A LeonAshley Romance Fic. Read Author's Note in Chapter 1 for more details. Rated M for strong language and content in chapters to come.
1. Gimmie Shelter

Resident Evil 4  
By Your Side  
A Romance Fanfic by Herringway

_Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or any affiliated titles, they are property of their respective owners._

_Author's Note: I recently got into Resident Evil 4 over the summer. An Ashley/Leon Romance fic has been on my mind for a while, so, this is the result. The introduction to this is based off a RE4 Roleplay I am currently doing with someone else on Gaia Online. Update: Thank god for EB Games! I found a copy of RE4 for the Cube._

Leon reloaded the 9mm handgun with ease, searching over the now-fallen corpse. From it, he took a Green Herb, which he immediatley ground and mixed with water. "Ashley... are you okay?" He asked, offering the vial of green liquid to her. It would heal her of her wounds quickly. Leon was here in Europe on a mission. It had two basic parts: One, find Ashley Graham, the president's daughter. Two, get out of Europe as quickly as possible. He didn't want Ashley to die anytime soon. She was an attractive young woman, still in University. She had her whole life ahead of her. "We've got to find a place to rest for the night... we've been out here for hours."

"Yeah..." She said, breathing heavily as an undead creature crawled out from a barrel behind Leon. She grabbed the gun from Leon's hand and shot at it, hitting the creature through the eye. She then fell from being so tired and exhausted. She tryed to stay awake, but it was impossible. Her wounds were getting to her. She needed those herbs, and quick. "Le...Le...on..." she muttered, trying to tell him to give up the herbs. Leon wasted no time. He got down on his knees, resting her head in his lap and pouring the herbs down her throat.

"Ashley... don't you dare die on me..." He said softly. He looked behind them. He could see a dimly lit cabin, about a 10 minute walk from their current position. He hoisted Ashley onto his shoulders and took off, Running for the Cabin. "Hold on, Ashley..." He whispered.

Ashley moaned and groaned and talked as the herbs were working in her system. She said stuff that she didn't even want to say, "Le...on...love...y-y-you..." The whole thing was going through her mind too fast, she didn't want to die, she had to hold on long enough. Leon ignored her. He figured that what she was saying was just side effects from the herbs. He knew that he did it, Ashley slapped him once for it, when she heard him mumble something about 'positions' after taking herbs. He burst through the door. The state of the cabin surprised Leon: Everything seemed somewhat new, not stained or dirty in any way. He found a bedroom and set Ashley down on the bed, and locked the cabin door. They were safe, for now. He decided that now would be a good time to give Hunnigan a call. He took a walkie-talkie from his pocket and buzzed in.

"Hunnigan, it's Leon."

"As if anyone else calls me here." Hunnigan replied smugly.

"We've found a safe haven, we're going to lay low here for a while."

"Roger that. I've got a fix on your location, so we know where to find you."

"Alright. Thanks." Leon said, cutting off the transmission. Searching the house, he found a green herb, a yellow herb, and a red herb. He ground them all and mixed them with more water, and went back to Ashley. "Ashley... are you feeling any better?" He asked, tipping the contents of the tin cup into her mouth, slowly, so that she didn't choke.

Her consiousness slowly rose. "A little bit..." She whispered trying to swallow the medicine. "You need some too, don't you?" She slowly asked him thinking he had wounds. She looked down and slowly looked him up and down then went back to swallowing the herbs. She had a bad aftertaste, but she knew it would help.

"Ashley, right now, you're the priority. You come before me." Leon said. "I don't want to bring your dad a corpse back." He said, jokingly. "And I'm 100 positive that you don't want to die either." He said. When he was certain that she had enough, he took a sip of whatever remained in the cup. "I'll go look around. Maybe I can find a shower or something that works." He said, standing up. "Stay here 'til I get back." He ordered, barring the door that went into the cabin, and pushing wardrobes in front of the windows. He then went to look around, finding some ammunition, a can of first aid spray from a First Aid Kit, and two things caught his eye. A pearl necklace and a diamond ring. He pocketed the ring, but kept the necklace out. Hiding it behind his back, he went back to Ashley. "I uh... I got something for you, Ashley." He said, handing her the necklace. Ashley's eyes widened with surprise, the light reflecting in her eyes causing them to shimmer.

"Oh Leon! Thank you." She said as Leon fastened the necklace on her. "I'll never take it off." Ashley rubbed her thumb along the large pearl pendant, lying back on the pillow. Leon stood and checked out a window. Ashley smiled at him while he wasn't looking. He was always so cautious, so intricate with planning, even if it was impromptu. It was one of the things that drove her crazy about him. Leon looked over at her, brandishing a similar smile as Ashley pretended to look away and try to sleep. He readied his handgun, customized to the max in terms of Firepower and Reload Speed, in case of an attack. Like any good sniper, Leon could remain in one spot, waiting and aiming for days at a time. And he would wait until world's end to protect Ashley.


	2. Guns and Ammo 101

Resident Evil 4  
By Your Side  
A Romance Fanfic by Herringway

_Disclaimer: I do not own Resident Evil or any affiliated titles, they are property of their respective owners._

_Author's Note: I apologize if part of the story seems bland, what with the Merchant explaining the guns and all. I got kind of wrapped up in the moment and I love putting myself as a character and imagining, 'Now what would character do in this situation?' Aw hell, now I'M rambling. Go ahead, read on!_

_Chapter Two: Guns and Ammo 101_

"Hey Ashley, you were pretty good with the handgun last night." Leon said as they left the cabin, referencing the moment she had killed off a Ganados follower with one shot.

"Really? You think so?" Ashley asked, blushing at the compliment. She looked down at her feet as they walked to keep Leon from noticing, still thumbing the smooth pearl pendant that Leon had given her the other night. She had dreamt of him again, and it was...

For Ashley, it was probably the most euphoric thing she had ever experienced. If she could get it to come true, then she'd be the happiest girl in the world. If only Leon would do to her what he did in her dream...

_Ashley lay back on the bed, silently tossing and turning. She woke up with a scream, and began to cry. Leon burst into the room, scanning around for any Ganados, and barred the door, heading over to comfort her. "Ashley?" He asked, hugging her gently and rocking her back and forth, like one does an infant when it is hurt and crying for Mommy. "It's okay, it's okay... just... shhh..." His voice was soothing, like a gently rushing stream._

_"Oh Leon, it was terrible! They had me surrounded and you..." She burst into sobs again, burying her face in his shirt. _

_"Ashley, don't worry... I'm here for you." Leon whispered, continuing to rock her. Ashley looked up, and, he leaned in close to her face, wiping her eyes with his thumb, and, closing the gap between their faces, they kissed. It held for what seemed like such an eternity, before she began to work off his shirt._

_It was an automatic movement, but it was what she wanted to do ever since she had met him. Clothes began to come off and were cast aside, until they were both completely naked beside each other on the bed, her hands running along his well-toned abs and strong arms..._

"Ashley?" Leon asked, waving a hand in front of her face. His voice brought her back to reality, and she began to blush profusley.

"I'm fine! Really!" She protested, smacking his hand away from her.

"Calm down. I didn't know if it was an effect of the parasite or not; your eyes had glazed over." Leon replied. Ashley lightly blushed. "Anyway, I was going to suggest maybe we buy you a handgun of your own to defend yourself if I'm not there." Eyes downcast, with arms crossed, Ashley thought about this. "I could teach you the way I was taught, by shooting cans off a fence."

"Well... I guess that'd be okay." Ashley replied. "Though I'll probably never use it." She remembered the feeling of using the 9mm pistol: It was almost a reflex, and it felt completley natural. "Alright... I guess we could do that."

"Okay. When we see the merchant again, you can take your pick." He replied, jingling the pesetas in the pouch on his belt. "Anything specific you have in mind?" He asked, sizing her up.

"There's more than one type?" Ashley asked, half-paying attention. Leon rolled his eyes, smiling a little. "Um... I don't know... I'd have to see what's there."

"Well, you're gonna hafta pick soon. There's the merchant." Leon replied, pointing towards an unnatrual blue flame atop a torch.

The merchant (Real name, Benjamin Stockman) smiled under his scarf as he saw Leon and Ashley approach. "Welcome!" He greeted them heartily, his voice rough with what was either a passing cold or old age. "Got some _raaare_ things on sale, strange-ah."

Ashley turned away, giggling quietly to herself. No matter how many times they would encouter the mysterious merchant, his accent and pronouciation of 'Stranger' would never cease to amuse her. She ceased her fit of child-like glee when Leon gently nudged her. She suddenly grew nervous. "I... I'm looking to buy a weapon." She said, hiding behind Leon and peeking out over his shoulder.

"Don't worry Ashley. You don't need to be afraid of him, he's not gonna hurt us." Leon reassured her. She mustered up her courage and stepped in front of him. "Go ahead."

"I want to buy a weapon." Ashley repeated, her fingers twiddling impatiently and nervously behind her back, and her sapphire-blue eyes downcast.

"My specialties." The merchant replied with a good-hearted laugh. "What can I do you for? I've got a nice TMP here that your friend hasn't bought yet. It holds fifty rounds and has a full-fledged automatic firing capability." He replied, removing the gun from his jacket and spinning it in his fingers. Ashley stared, dumbfounded at the technique the merchant displayed, though not a word of what he had finished saying made a lick of sense to her, and it was proven with a simple, confused _'what?!'_

The merchant sighed. What good was it to explain it if only a weapons fanatic would understand. "It holds a fifty-bullet magazine and is completley rapid-fire." He replied in a monotonous, flat voice.

"Oh..." Ashley replied, shaking her head. "No thanks, I would perfer..."

"Alright then, how's about a Riot Gun? It's a shotgun used by police forces to quiet riots, hence the name 'Riot Gun'. It has a well-pronounced pistol grip to enable better handling..."

"No thank you... It seems awful heavy for a girl like me..." Ashley sighed. "But when you said pistol-grip, that's moreover what I'm looking for... a pistol." She looked up a little more, nervously. "...If that's okay..."

"Well, why didn't you bloody well say so!" The merchant said with a laugh. ".45mm Magnum or 9mm Handgun?"

Ashley became lost again. "Umm... what's the difference?" Fourtunatley, the merchant was patient enough to explain this part in depth. (_Author's Note: Okay. Here's where it's probably gonna get bland. Small disclaimer: I don't know much about weaponry other than the fact that the end with the hole is the most dangerous part when the trigger is squeezed without the safety on. Always practice proper handling of firearms in real life and never mix guns and alcohol, kids!)_

"The number refers to the 'caliber' of the gun, the 'caliber' being the diameter of the barrel." The merchant explained, using a Red9 Handgun and a Blacktail Magnum to illustrate. "In the case of these two beauties, the Red9 Nine-mil Handgun is weaker than the forty-five caliber Magnum, but it is lighter and easier to aim. In contrast, the Magnum, while powerful, is heavier, and produces a greater recoil. Observe." The merchant spun the guns in his fingers like something from Clint Eastwood's 'Dirty Harry' or some other famous western (Or, if you're a _true_ gamer at heart, think along the lines of Metal Gear Solid 1's Revolver Ocelot), and, without looking twice, fired the Red9 once. It jerked a little in his hand, knocking a lodged Spinel from it's place in a rock wall. The Blacktail, on the other hand, was fired at an old soda can. The Blacktail's recoil caused the merchant's arm to fly upwards.

"The recoil matters, too. A magnum is a steady, but heavy, pistol." Leon added, resting one hand on Ashley's shoulder and pointing at the merchant's now raised arm, using his other hand as a sight to guide Ashley's eyes so that she was sure to pay attention. "With it's power, there's enough recoil to send your arm flying up like a school student with a math problem. The handgun is less so, resulting in but a slight jolt, and nothing more." (_Author's Note: Okay. I don't think it's much bland from here on out.)_

Ashley swallowed nervously. Jesus, shopping for skirts at the mall wasn't this hard. "I'll... um... I'll take the handgun, please..." The merchant smiled under his bandana, handing Ashley the Red9.

"Alrigh'y then, strange-ah, is that all?"

"Yes, that'll do, bud." Leon said, dropping the required pesetas in the Merchant's extended hand.

"Heheheh, thank ye! Pleasure doin' business with ya, strange-ah!" The merchant waved as they left. Leon gathered up some old soda cans as they walked along the trodden pathway to an old farm, dilapidated like the rest of the property in this god-forsaken part of the country. Ashley smiled. If the location was more septa-toned than it was painted gun-metal grey, she could pretend she was in the Gusty Gulch part of Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64. Leon lined up the rusted tin cans on a fence carefully, looking back at the president's daughter, risking a small grin in her direction.

"Okay Ashley... Let's see what you've got."

_Author's Note: there you go, chapter 2. Yeah, I know. I'm lazy. Shut up, haha._


End file.
